This only seems to happen from 1-2 shift with moderate throttle...meaning putting a little more gas into it from a stop. If I baby it and try to keep the rpm's below 2k then its fine and shifts without issue. Once in second, the issue is gone and the driveline behaves just fine.

I cant tell if its from the rear end or the transmission but it definitely feels like something is starting to go.

I've read about an accumulator being worn out but wanted to know what else may cause this, if anything.

The truck is stock, never been reprogrammed by me or the dealer and has ~90k miles. I'm know I'm due for a fluid exchange. My question really is, do I take it to the dealership or tranny shop to do the work and inspection or tackle it myself? I was originally planning on doing the exchange, but now it seems like it may need more work. Anyone else deal with this and have the fix?

 

Your post is confusing. Do you have a flair or a harsh shift? A flair is when the engine RPM rises, the drops during a shift. A harsh shift just hits hard when it shifts.

 

1-2 accumulator spring is likely broken. It can be done at home. Search for it as there's a lot of write-ups out there that include how to do this. Study them and if you're less than confident, take it to a pro. Overall it's not very hard.

 

Thanks Guys - Jay, I'll search around for it.

Mark unfortunately it does both. The flare is from 2-3 but that is rare and in city traffic around 25-30mph, has done it since I got the truck. Of course tge dealer could never get it to happen so no fix was ever done. I've learned how to avoid that, but the 1-2 shift is what concerns me more as it seems to be getting worse. I'll edit my post as I see where its confusing.

 

Just talked to the Ford Tech: Here is what he stated-

It may be too new for the broken spring, could be something sticking in the valve body. Also stated that there is snap ring that commonly breaks for 4th gear and that should be replaced when in there. All in all about 2hr job.

 

I have a 2001 Ford F150 5.4L V8 with 183,000 miles on it. Just dropped the pan and replaced the filter about 4 weeks ago. I started having this same problem about 2 weeks ago. When i take off from a stop, my engine will rev up until it finally goes into gear. There is no noise associated with it but if I do a hard take off my tires will squeal. If i baby it and take off slow it is hardly noticed. It seems to have this problem about every other time I go from a stop or slow roll. No other problems once I get into 2nd. Is this likely the same problem and fix?

 

Not sure for your issue, as it is a different trans, maybe ping Mark as I'm guessing he would know what you need to look into.

My issue is going from 1-2, sounds like yours is a "neutral-1" issue.